The real Malay ?

He came, he saw, he didn’t conquer.He stirred up the pot instead.

Malacca Chief Minister, Ali Rustam’s pronouncement that it was easy to become a Malay didn’t go down well with some sections of our Sabah people, especially with the non-Muslims.

When he made the speech at the recent Malay-Muslim conference in Kota Kinabalu, he actually didn’t say anything new. Infact, he stated the obvious.

Article 160 of the Federal Malaysian constitution states that a Malay is Muslim, who speaks the Malay language and practises Malay adat or customs.

Ali Rustam was right on that score, the question people want to know is whether he was encouraging people to convert? To some people it looked like he was doing exactly that, hence the brickbrats thrown at him.

In Malaysia, there is nothing that is not politicised, be it race, religion, business, education, you name it, there is always a hint of politics in everything. Nothing will be accepted at face value here, because there is none in this country . People are programmed to read in between the lines, especially statements made by politicians.

Now, the constitutional definition of Malay itself is flawed. When the definition was drafted, I wonder whether it was given much thought, because fifty years down the road, it looks like the constitutional experts responsible decided to play God themselves.

Maybe we should forgive them, if we scrutinize the definition closely ,doesn’t it reflect the sociological “masuk melayu”(enter malay) concept? If you become a Muslim in this country, you are said to “masuk melayu” and not a convert to Islam. A way of life is more important than one’s bloodline or a commitment to the religion?! With new information available, surely we can do better.

The first thing you ask is how do you equate religion with race? Race is God given by virtue of genes, language and evolution.One can always change one’s religion, but, can one do that with one’s race?

A person of Malay origin belongs to the Austronesian group of peoples which include the Polynesians. Tagalogs, Bisayas in the Philippines and even Dusuns or Dayaks are all Malays in the wider sense, since they are not generally Muslim, does that make them lesser Malays? The Malagasy people whose language has many similarities with the Maanyan Dayaks in south-east Kalimantan, are they lesser Malays by virtue of the fact that they are overwhelmingly Christian ? Or for that matter, Hindu Balinese?

If we go by our constitution, of course, they are not Malays. But, if an Indian, Pakistani, Arab, a Chinese or an Englishman who is a citizen and a Muslim, speaks Malay habitually, and follows the Malay customs, he is a Malay! It does not make sense, does it?

Some people are happy with this classification, some might not be too pleased. To me, if the person has Malay blood in him because he is the product of a mixed marriage, it is all right to be classified as such.Those who have none and don’t look like one physically but want to be considered as one because the constitution says so,that’s another story.

Can someone tell me must Malaysians alone monopolise the term Malay?.Who gives us the God-given right to limit the term Malay to ourselves, when there are Malay stock people all over the world who are not Muslim who have Malay genes but are deprived of this association ?

This is not an easy matter to resolve,there are many Islamised native races in Sabah who would rather be acknowledged by their ethnic names, rather than being called Malay. While, this umbrella term is politically useful in this country, but, it is time for us to look at it from a more wider and sober perspective.

A narrow definition gives rise to narrow minded interpretation, in the light of progress made in the field of DNA by the scientists it would be magnanimous on our part to rephrase the definition of Malays to its truer meaning. Remember, as we evolve, nothing that is man made is ever cast in stone. As it now stands , we don’t look that enlightened, do we?

So, will the real Malays please stand up?

Proton Saga

Sometime back they shut the door on each other, now, they are talking again. Malaysian national car maker, Proton, is holding desperate talks with Volkswagen AG (VW)in order to save itself from the funeral parlour.

A brainchild of the former Prime Minister,Dr.Mahathir, Proton was conceptualised to fast track Malaysia into the ranks of the industrialised nations, the saga of this company has all of Malaysia intrigued worthy of the best soap operas on TV.

When the idea was first mooted in the 80s, many Malaysians were skeptical, and even the then Deputy Prime Minister, Musa Hitam, cited Proton as one of the reasons for him wanting to resign from the post .He didn’t see how it could be a success.

Dr. Mahathir was persistent and he personally saw the idea through. Many Malaysians saw him as the CEO of the company, even overriding the board, but, he was the strong-willed Prime Minister, wasn’t he?

Proton went through some good times initially as Malaysians came around to support the home -made car backed by the war cry of “Malaysia Boleh” (Malaysia Can). Dr. Mahathir showed everything was possible with dedication and hard work.

Proton started off with the play on technology transfer from Japan’s Mitsubishi , later, it flirted with France’s Citroen and Proton even bought into Lotus to try to get the best technological hook-up available. Malaysians cheered, while visiting the United Kingdom, many used to feel extra proud when they saw many Protons on the road there.

There was even a hugely popular Kadazandusun song called “Proton Saga Kalabu” (The grey Proton Saga), this cheeky song tells of a young divorcee who would only show interest in would be suitors if they drove grey Proton Saga. The song was later made into a VCD movie. Our national car has really made a great impression on the people and it has even become a part of our pop culture.

Then, many also asked where the national car-maker was going with the eclectic approach. Where was the technical focus?

Like the wise say all things must pass, and Proton was no exception. As soon as Dr.Mahathir retired, Proton CEO, Tengku Mahaleel was sacked, of course Dr. Mahathir was livid even though he was still Proton’s advisor. Without the political clout, Dr. Mahathir was ignored by the ambitious and repressed people in the company.

Leadership changes were made, left on its own, Proton lost its direction and apathy set in. From a cash rich company, now, it’s bleeding to death.

For the recent fiscal year which ended March 31(FY07), we see revenue dropped 37% to RM4.9billion from RM7.8billion in FY06. Proton posted a whopping net loss of RM591.4 million against a profit of RM46.7million previously. Loss per share stood at 107.7 sen compared with earnings per share of 8.4 sen in FY06.

Many reasons were given for this woeful performance, it was attributed to a challenging operating environment,which saw intense competition compounded by lower used cars value and stringent loan application screening that put credit squeeze on prospective buyers.

Managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin explained that the losses were due to lower sales volume and other factors including one-off expenses and provisions.To put it on the right track, Proton will focus on operational efficiency, cost competitiveness, introduction of new models and more aggressive marketing campaigns, he said.

While all these standard attempts will take time to bear fruits, many are not convinced that Proton, which is owned by the Government’s investment wing, Khazanah, will see the light at the end of the tunnel unless the company is run more professionally.

The government must act fast and do what needs to be done to stem the bleeding. If Proton has to be sold to foreign parties, so be it. One can argue about nation’s interests until the cows come home, at the end of the day it is the bottom line, unless, the government is contemplating a bail-out again.

Nissan was a sick car-maker, by teaming up with Renault, the man sent to sort out the mess, Ghosn, managed to turn it around. If the extra nationalistic and proud Japanese could accept this reality, Malaysians had better do the same.

Proton needs an experienced outsider to run it, a local person tends to spend time pleasing the various political factions, this will not get us anywhere.Tough decisions on factors such as quality and efficiency need to be made. In other words, go the commercial way, you either shape up or ship out.

VW is keen to establish a foothold in South East Asia through Proton, among its numerous strengths, it has the track record of turning ailing Czech based Skoda around. With the famous German clockwork efficiency , hopefully, Proton can look forward to better times once again.

A real winner

Little has been made in the local media of this Malaysian journalist who won the Pulitzer prize, the most prestigious journalistic prize there is. Imagine what this means to your own curriculum vitae.

I hope our local hacks are not envious of her. Fong Foong Mei has only been in the game for ten years, and she has managed to bag this coveted prize.

This 34 year old former Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Bintang Girls school student writes under the byline of Mei Fong, and she is one of the seven members of Wall Street Journal team that won the 2007 Pulitzer international award announced on April 16 for a series of articles on capitalism in China last year.

Fong had written about the terrible conditions of migrant construction workers in Beijing.According to her it took her two months to find someone who would talk, and the workers were so happy that someone was interested in their story.

She co-authored a second piece on a Chinese doctor who was inspired by the”Erin Brokovich” movie starring Julia Roberts,he fought to save his village from environmental pollution in the eastern Fujian province. When doing the story on the doctor,it was difficult as her freedom to travel was restricted and interviews required permission from local officials.

The migrant workers story also earned Fong a first prize in the 2006 Human Rights Press Award given out by the Hong Kong Correspondance Club and Amnesty International earlier this year.

Fong studied at the University of Singapore under a Singapore Press Holdings bursary.She worked with the New Paper there for three years.

Later, she completed her masters in international relations at Columbia University in the United States. When she graduated in 2001 Fong undertook a three month internship with the Wall Street Journal which led to a job offer in the organisation.

There were hardly any commentaries by our local journalists on this world class achievement.I wonder why? Is it because she didn’t go through our system that she only deserves a passing mention in the form of news item?

We must ask ourselves how is that our system is not producing achievers like her? She is after all a local girl. Something is missing somewhere, I think the answer is obvious , our journalists are trained to be the best self-censors in the world , investigative journalism hardly exists in this country. When some of our people make the grade overseas, Malaysia does not get acknowledged, after all their training and the exposure which bring the glory cannot be attributed to us. We make our own bed, so we lie on it .

We have great journalistic talents in this country,we simply have to do more by encouraging them to write the truth.Without the freedom to write, we can’t produce world class achievers to call our own.

Congratulations to Mei Fong, and don’t forget your roots.

Lina Joy

As many have expected the Malaysian Federal court’s 2-1 decision on Lina Joy’s case is a no brainer, after almost six years of legal wrangling Lina Joy@Azlina Jailani , a born Malay Muslim cannot delete the word Islam from her Malaysian identity(IC) card.

The most famous Christian convert in the country, now 43, converted to Christianity at the age of 26 ,to marry her Christian cook boyfriend and she’d followed the various legal steps to delete the word Islam from her IC card after her conversion.

While the National Registration Department allowed her the name change, they were not too sure whether they could delete the religion she was born into from the IC, hence the basis of this court case.To add more to the confusion, Malaysian legal system runs on a parallel path, Syariah courts are for Muslims especially on matters pertaining to family law and religion and Civil Courts for the non-Muslims.

It is fine if all parties involved in a family dispute, for example, are of the same faith, in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society such as ours, things get complicated when one party is Muslim and the other is not.Which court system has the precedence over which to the satisfaction of all parties concerned?

The Federal Constitution says a Malay must be a Muslim, speak Malay, and habitually follow Malay customs.It never talks about ethnicity so, a person of Indian origins can qualifiy if the above conditions are met. But an ethnic Malay,meaning a native of the archipelago,who is not a Muslim is not a Malay. While the contradictions on this definition are obvious, but, the intentions are very clear.

This definition has more to do with politics rather than with religion per se. Malaysia is just about half Muslim, this is rather precarious , as the balance can tilt either way if the Muslim component of the country is allowed to be loose and fluid. Any perceived challenge to this status quo is seen as a threat by the powers that be as they seek to maintain the early Malay-Muslim character of the land. Islam is also made the official religion and there can be no propagation of other religions among Malays either.The control is rather tight.

If you wish to leave the Muslim religion you must get the green light from the Syariah Courts. It does not count that it is your free choice, even if the Koran talks about no complusion in religion, it does not matter. The people in charge will put you away and try to rehabilitate you. Lina Joy probably thought it would be nice to test the system in respect of her human rights. Now, it is clear that the Syariah courts are supreme to the Civil courts in matters such as this. Is this constitutionally right? The debate has yet to stop.

The minority judgement of chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjun that no court or authority should be easily allowed to have implied powers to curtail rights that are constitutionally granted is a food for thought for all freedom loving Malaysians.

If Lina still insists on the deletion, she has to start all over with the Syariah Courts to get them to declare that she is no longer a Muslim. This is the law of the country and this is her only option.

It is very obvious for Muslims if they wish to leave their religion,they have do it quietly. If they still want to stay in the country after changing their religion, they have to be a closet Buddhist, a closet Christian whatever, but, they know they will never have peace until the day they die . Is that so? some of you may snigger, look at the bodies that have been dug up for being buried in the ‘wrong’ cemetery you ‘d say. You are dead right, the best option is to pack up and leave the country.

It is strange, Lina’s photo has never been published in the local papers. Many do not know how she looks like. Is there such a person? Maybe, this is for her own good,there are too many intolerant people out there .

I understand Lina is overseas now,this is the best option for her considering the circumstances. As a Malaysian, I can’t say I am proud that she has to leave the country to live with her own conscience. Free as a bird somewhere else, but not in her own country!??

This is not the first case of Muslims changing their religion in this country and it won’t be the last either.

The game people play

The top two richest men in the country, Robert Kouk and Ananda Krishnan (AK) have decided to take their listed firms private.

The question is why? Being heavyweight players on our local bourse, should not they be propping up the market with their quality companies? In case they forget, they owe the country everything especially in giving them the opportunities to make their vast fortunes here.So, they must share their good luck with the public by allowing them to hold shares in their companies. This is the least they could do.

Kuok has shifted his domicile assets worth RM15.5 billion from Malaysia to Singapore by selling his controlling stakes in PBB Berhad to his Singaporean nephew through Singapore-listed Wilmar International Ltd. Many market players will tell you that nothing is happening here, it is a matter of shifting your marbles from the right to the left pocket. In fact, it has incest written all over this deal. Granted Kuok is in his eighties, time is running out and he has to sort out his assets, many want to know if there is more that meets the eye?

As for AK, the Astro and Maxis King, the rationale put forward is that he wants to penetrate further into India and Indonesia, therefore, he does not wish to be constrained by regulatory requirements and as heavy capital expenditure is involved, it will be sometime before we can see the return on investment. This will also prevent a dampening effect on the share price from occuring .

As the spin goes, it is a win-win situation for all, especially for the minority shareholders as they will benefit tremendously from this exercise. AK is willing to pay RM15.60 a share in cash, which is pitched at 20% premium to Maxis’ closing price of RM13 on April 27. The whole deal to take the company private is valued at RM39.9 billion.

We can see that it is going to be exciting times for Maxis, unfortunately, for the local equity market, it is going to be deprived of a blue chip with a fantastic track record and sound management.The KL Composite Index will also be losing one of its major component stocks.

Those who are not happy with this move are saying Maxis is the holder of a government licence as part of an earlier privatisation programme, so why should AK be given the green light to do what he wants. It looks like a double privilege for him.

Many also worry that there will be lesser quality stocks to attract players to the market if more blue chips are allowed to be taken private.

The more cynical of the market watchers are asking whether these two players know something that we don’t. Are there highwaymen lurking somewhere? Sometimes, they say the best way to vote is with your feet, and what does this look like to you.?

Tourists

I find it strange that our Federal Minister of Tourism found it embarrasing to be told by the Arab tourist agents on his recent visit to the region that our beaches are polluted , our frontliners don’t smile and our taxis are dirty and the drivers cheat you.

Its not news to us, maybe the minister comes from a different planet from the rest of us. I am shocked that he was shocked.

To be fair, the local press have been doing their job in highligthing the many shortcomings mentioned. The problem is that too many of those in power seem to be cut off from the real world, many don’t quite know whether they are coming or going. Malaysians are good in putting on show not only for the politicians but also for the visitors, everybody gets the feel good factor and assumes everything is fine.

Things look great on the surface, but, underneath the carpet there are too many things that have been swept under. This has to do with our culture of telling the politicians what they want to hear. If we look at the problems in the country, many could have been avoided if the culture of responsibility or accountability is practised in a more open and transparent manner.

Most of the problems in this country are solved on ad hoc basis without taking into account the big picture, no wonder the same problems never seem to end. We tend to forget things very fast too and hardly learn from our past mistakes or misfortunes. All these are acts of God, but, never due to our own inept style of planning or mananging.

Public service is carried out with some kind of grudge by the fontliners though, things have improved in certain areas. The arrogance of some of these officers is legendary. Despite all the talk about us being nice and friendly people, think, is this the whole truth,nothing,but the whole truth? If you want to believe in your own myths,that is your right.

I have so many horror stories about our immigration frontliners to tell, they can be rude, unfriendly and overbearing.I still remember one incident at the KLIA, the lady officer-in-charge was so cold and disintrested, I wondered what she was doing manning the counter. She was more intrested in talking on her mobile phone, engrossed in her conversation she did not even bother looking up. I suppose, we can blame God for giving her this rude, and unprofessional disposition. She really ruined my day after a long flight home.

Many people I know also have an axe to grind when it comes to the immigration officers in Sarawak. I appreciate that they do not want to turn their state into another Sabah with all the illegals running around passing themselves off as local citizens,like they say there are many ways to skin a cat. What I can’t tolerate is unfriendly, unwelcoming immigration officers. Sarawak has many attractive tourist products worth patronising, but, for an inter-state visitor like me, the immigration officers there can be a pain you know where with their overzealous intrepretations of how they should protect their state from outsiders. I wonder whether they welcome visitors or whether we are in the same country or what.

As for polluted beaches and cheating cabbies , I think the least we talk about them the better. Many of us have resigned to the fact that we have to live with them unless of course, we walk the talk, and this takes political will and education, nothing else will do the trick.

I don’t know what is so shameful about stating the truth, I would like to think that it was done with the best of intentions. I bet my bottom ringgit that nothing will change after this until the next shaming exercise. It was good that the Arabs socked it to him, now, the minister knows Malaysia is a part of the real world and not some Shangri-la somewehere.

Welcome to Malaysia, sir.

Mothertongue

There are something like over 6,000 languages in the world. Asia alone has over 2,200 languages. Indonesia has the most with 742 languages, India has 427, China 241, Philippines 180, Malaysia has 147, most of them in the two Borneo states, and even tiny Brunei has 19 languages.

Like anything else in this world, if we don’t look after them they will soon disappear . This century is an age of rapid change . Like the loss of biodiversity, languages are also disappearing fast. It is believed that as high as 50% of the total world’s languages are dying, 40% are endangered and only 10% are considered “safe”.

With the death of a language, the accumulated knowledge, the understanding of human thought and world view is gone forever. We have a saying that “language is the soul of a race”, this shows how important languages are to people in shaping up their identity and in telling the world who they are. Once the language disappears, the history of the particular people goes with it. Efforts must,therefore, be made to save languages especially minority languages from extinction.

It was reported that the first SJK Kadazandusun in Sabah is to be set up at Kampung Tiong Monggis in Tenghilan some 70 kilometers from Kota Kinabalu, the news should make local language- cultural activists happy. Kadazandusun language, which is part of the larger Austronesian family, is one of the hardest languages to master, many with Kadazandusun blood in them can’t speak the language well or not at all. One of the reasons is that there are too many dialects, though attempts have been made to standardise the language, many especially among the young people find it easier to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia or English.

With the setting up of the $150,000 school occupying a 10-acre site, it is envisaged that at least the Kadazandusun language will be preserved and practised by the young people. However, much work needs to be done, reference materials, guidelines on writing and speaking will have to be produced first and fast.The hardware will be ready soon, but, as usual the hardest part is the software.

What I don’t quite understand is why the school is being sponsored through Korea Food for the Hungry International Fund under the United Nations programme? Why didn’t local bodies who believe in cultural preservations start the project on their own? I am sure there are many affluent members of the community who are willing to help a worthy cause such as this. Don’t we believe in self-help? Why must we rely on external subsidy to keep our own heritage from being zapped away?

Still, this is the start of something good before the rapid march of globalisation swallows everything up in its path. What about the many more native tongues like Bajau, Murut, Iranun, Banjar, Brunei, Tidung and others? Is it going to be all right when we make up one morning and see these languages just disappear into thin air, a footnote in history? Must we again wait for outside help before we do something? The choice is ours.

Mazu

Something is not quite right here.In fact,it is rather confusing. I am talking about the debate raging over the Mazu statue that is supposed to be built in Kudat, our northern town . Kudat has been the hometown of two of our most colourful politicians, namely, the late Tun Fuad Stephens and the late Tun Mustapha. Kudat was also the offloading point for most of the Chinese coolies who were brought here by the British.

Now, a tranquil, pretty seaside town, it can boast to be one of the cleanest towns in Sabah. A three hour drive away from the capital Kota Kinabalu, it has some interesting tourist attractions. One that is being touted as a must see in the area is the Tip of Borneo, where the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea meet at a place called Simpang Magayau giving the clear waters around the furtherest part of northern Borneo a deep blue colour which is both fascinating and an exhilarating experience to savour. Credit must go to Datuk Chong Kah Kiat,for developing the area.

There was much speculation when he,as the Tourist Minister- cum -the Deputy Chief Minister, resigned recently and that his “on principles” resignation was due among others to the disagreement between him and the Chief Minister over the building of this Chinese Goddess of the Sea statue,said to be the tallest in the world to attract more tourists to the area.

The approval was given by the local authority, and works started and the base for the statue has been completed. Then, there was an order for the works to be stopped from the State Secretary as local sensitivities have not been fully taken into consideration, it was reported. Apparently, this massive statue is being built too close to a mosque.

When asked by the local press, the Chief Minister said he never objected to the statue being built. The question is who then authorised the State Secretary to order to stop work if the Chief Minister never objected to it. It is very strange how our local administration works.The Chief Minister can be overruled by his civil servant? Who is in charge then?

Also, what many people want to know is why the approval was given in the first place? Didn’t the local authority deliberate on the pros and cons of the project? Or, was it a case of when the Minister wanted something done, everybody just nodded their heads in agreement without contradicting him? And, when problems arise later, just point fingers and pretend not to know. Is it fair to order to stop work when the project is almost half done? This is a private project being done on a private property, the rule of law must come into play somehow. You can’t give the approval,then change your mind about it later. Nobody wants to do business if their investments are at the whim and fancy of officialdom.

In Sabah, the people generally get along well with one another because of the many mixed marriages amongst the various ethnic groups . Cultural or religious issues seldom surface here, as people are very tolerant. What this episode has shown is that in a multi cultural, multi religious society, we cannot take things for granted. If we don’t handle things properly, they can well blow in our faces. Once the damage is done, it’s hard to get things back to where they were before.

Lines are slowly being formed along political and religious lines on this issue, if this is not handled with the most sensitivity, then, we will have to spend more time to put the fire out. But, I am sure the State government will handle it to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. There is not much option,really.

National Service

I don’t get it. Why do some Malaysian parents make so much noise over good intentions? Why do we look more on the negatives than the positives? I am an all out supporter of the national service programme, I think it is a good idea, and I believe the duration of the programme should be least for a year instead of the current three months.

Our kids are a pampered lot, especially those who have the privilege of growing up in the urban middle class homes. From the day they were born, most things are taken care of nicely: they have their servants, they are driven to school, to tuition class, and to other extra curricular activities. Life is sweet and easy and self help is a foreign word to most of them.

Many don’t appreciate the sacrifices made by the parents , and most take things for granted, as a result many are physically and mentally weak.

Of course, we are told that the national service is for getting our young people to interact with one another. Our school system is not helping much in helping to integrate the various races into one cohesive Malaysian unit. Our young people in this country prefer to go to their own language-based schools, consequently, only those of the same cultural origins interact with one another and they are at loss with other cultural groups. This is bad for the country.

A recent visit to one of the camps on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu convinced me that national service is what the young people of Malaysia need. While the facilities at this particular camp did not look that impressive, seeing some of the participants looking lost in the corridors, many away from home for the first time, and their lack of self confidence and social skills to interact with their peers are signs for any impartial observers to conclude that national service programme is the only way out for these young people to further grow as human beings. It was obvious that the school system has not delivered the E.Q. side of the coin.

Young people in Korea or Thailand who have to do proper national service training see the sacrifice as something they have to pay for being citizens of the country. Something to be proud of. In Malaysia, we prefer to pay people to do things for us, as long as you leave us alone, we are fine with that. Patriotism, what’s that? In many sports, young Koreans and Thais are more resilient and better fighters, and they have become world champions in some of them. We too have some world champions, but, fighting spirit is a nagging problem. We get carried away easily by little success when we should be proving that we are the best in the world forever and ever.

A change of mind set is needed by the parents, after all, it is for the good of our children, we cannot hold their hands forever. Have faith in them, they might surprise us yet .So, parents should not worry unnecessarily, the kids are in good hands. Things will only get better with time. The national service programme is as good as any to prepare the young people to be confident to face this ever increasing borderless and competitive world.

Woofie

What goes around comes around.

During the Asian economic meltdown in 1997, the West condescendingly said the reason for the crisis was due to “corruption,cronyism and nepotism” practised in the Asian countries. This mantra was chanted all over the world even by some self righteous Asians themselves without much thinking.

The controversy around Paul Wolfowitz, the current president of the World Bank is very ugly. The moral authority of the former US deputy defence secretary is in pieces. At war with his staff but backed by US administration, Wolfowitz played a direct part in getting his Libyan-born girlfriend, Shaha Riza, into a tax-free job at the State Department paying more than Secretary Condi Rice.

Wolfowitz is a brilliant man,he did his Phd at the University of Chicago.He was always with the neoconservative circles during the 70s and the 80s. Later on, he was made an ambassador to Indonesia where he learnt to speak Bahasa, and generally did a a good job with President Suharto and his cronies who were basically American clients.

He came to more prominence when as assistant secretary of defence, he wrote that American military must remain strong and must be in a position to defeat any combination of powers anywhere in the world under any circumstances. Nothing wrong with that. He was also one of the dominant voices in the neoconservative circles in wanting to attack Iraq which has killed so many people unnecessarily and which hasn’t solved anything in terms of world terrorism. Plenty wrong with this.

The timing for the controversy erupted at the worst time for Wolfowitz when he is fighting to overcome much resistance to his noble attempt against corruption in the World Bank’s US$24 billion annual lending.

His attempt to replenish the bank’s depleting lending budget by raising up to US$25 billion in new funds from its richer members also appears doomed.

Those of us who look to the West for moral leadership, this surely, must be a good lesson. Not everything coming out from there is straight as an arrow. Power corrupts . As human beings we make mistakes, and the double standards we can do without.

While we Asians were roundly condemned because of “corruption,cronyism and nepotism” , the President of the United States, George Bush, is supportive of this kind of behaviour by his crony. Does the West, therefore, have the moral high ground to tell leaders like Mugabe and others to behave for doing exactly the same?

As for Wolfowitz, he should just ride into the sunset with his partner, and study his own moral poverty. World poverty can do without this kind of leadership.

Labels

We love to affix labels,if we don’t, we feel we cannot connect with the world around us. It’s a big, bad world out there, remember? Labels help us to understand things better, “Developing world”, “First World” and so on.

Labelling is akin to product differentiation. Generally, all petrol products are the same ,once, we attach labels like “Shell” or “Esso”, we feel better. What’s the difference between the two anyway?

We have been conditioned when we meet a person for the first time , we tend to affix labels on him especially if you can’t figure out his ethnicity or his religion. In our part of the world and other parts as well, a person’s ethnicity carries certain baggage, it does help make our understanding of the world around us easier.

If we are not sure, we are never hesitant to ask for a person’s bloodline or his religion. In some societies this is considered rude. But, in Sabah , there are something like 30 ethnic groups, when meeting a person for the first time, it’s not easy to categorise him. A Christian sounding name does not mean he is definitely a Christian. A Muslim name does not automatically make the person a Muslim.

We don’t mean any harm, we just want to feel comfortable, so that we don’t commit a cultural/ or social faux pas. It’s better to ask than feel sorry.We do this all the time that we forget that the person is actually a human being. He probably wants to be accepted for what he is minus the labels.

We are also quick to affix labels if the behaviour of the person confirms to our prejudices of that particular ethnic group.Oh, that sensitive Malay, the selfish Chinese, the drunkard Kadazan Dusun, and it goes on.

Does this thinking really help us? If it makes one feel better, I have no quarrel with that. However, we must accept our fellow countrymen as human beings first. Don’t condemn the whole ethnic group because of the behaviour of a member of that particular group, he does not represent everyone. And please refrain from affixing labels too quickly to please yourselves.

If they upset you, it’s because of their shortcomings as human beings. I know it’s not easy to think differently because we have been conditioned that way for hundreds of years. If we believe we are different so that we get to know one another better and not to despise one another, that’s one big step already.

KK night out

It sounded more like an instruction than a suggestion.We are going out tonight , ok?

Huh,where to? I want to watch the Akademia Fantasia concert,I protested.

We go out and eat, I don’t feel like cooking.

You can’t possibly win if your wife sets her mind on something. In the car we agreed to have Japanese. However, we have been to most of the Japanese restaurants in town. We couldn’t quite agree where to go, then we remembered that there is a new Japanese restaurant at the newly opened Warisan Square shopping complex. We decided to check it out.

We parked at the Waterfront entertainment area that faces the Warisan square. While waiting to cross the road, I took note of the bus stop nearby. There were many people milling around waiting for their buses home. What was noticeable was the amount of rubbish strewn all over the place.A very untidy place, it reminded me of the temporary mini-bus station where Warisan square is now. Only the urine stench was missing.

Warisan looked pleasant enough, with a bookshop, eating joints and sports shops on the ground floor.There was this air of brightness and newness all over the complex. The Fung Shui felt good. We climbed the stairs to the first floor and found the restaurant.

As we entered , I noticed that the restaurant was quite small but somewhat cosy. It has a simple decor, nothing fantastic, I have always liked the minimalist Japanese style. It was three quarters full with diners comprising mainly of family members trying out the latest Japanese restaurant in town. The waitress showed us to our table. We told her that we would order as soon as our son and his friend turn up.

The air con was not turned up full, I felt the stuffiness of the room. However, it was bearable, as though reading my thoughts, the air-con suddenly went cooler. Real magic, this! I was definitely a Japanese in my previous life!

As we looked towards the counter, we noticed the Japanese chef , so we said to each other at least genuine Japanese food, huh! . When our son and his friend turned up we did our ordering. We asked for our usual favourites - tempura.miso soup, and some chicken dish.While waiting, I prepared my favourite wasabi, the green Japanese radish that sends some kind of funny feeling right through your nose. It is a torture, at the same time a real pleasure.Trust the Japanese to get the Yin and the Yang of their food right.

We did not have to wait that long for our food. The waitress was friendly and polite but, you could sense that she was new, the communication skills were not there yet. The food was delicious, all right. Definitely, there is a difference with food prepared by local Chinese chef and Japanese chef. Nothing like the real thing, they say.

My wife liked the chicken dish and decided to ask for a second helping. Here, the kitchen was slack.We had to wait for quite sometime,well over 30 minutes for the dish to come. We reminded the waitress twice of our order and even told the lady at the counter, if it would take much longer we would rather cancel it. She said it would be ready anytime.

We waited patiently, and finally it came.Since it was delicious,my wife decided to forgive everybody. When we asked for the bill, it was quite reasonable for a dinner for four.Less than Rm150.Then,my son’s friend did not eat much.

When done, we decided to go to the Waterfront for drinks. I have always liked this particular part of KK. It is a long line of restaurants and pubs fronting the sea. You could hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the sea wall. With a big stretch of water fronted by the Gaya island, the scene was calm and pretty. There were a few mid-sized ships in mid-stream, just across the water you could see the lights of Sutera Harbour resort.

We decided to walk the stretch,we sauntered towards the Sutera Harbour Resort end first while waiters with menus hassled us to patronise their places as we politely declined. When we got to the end, there was a group of young people lounging around, sitting on the railings talking loudly, some were even lying on the floor. What were they doing? We could not figure out. Chilling out? They were definitely foreigners. That got us a bit uneasy. No police patrols anywhere to be seen.It was not that late either.

We strolled to the other end and decided to occupy one of the tables. The waiter came and we placed orders for our drinks. The sea breeze was blowing gently and it was good for the tired body and soul; while looking at some European tourists being foot massaged under the canopies in front of us, then, we smelled something fishy. There was a band playing further down, but, we could hardly hear them.

We also noticed that many of the people hanging around there were definitely not locals. A couple and a friend were conversing loudly in a Filipino dialect next to us.The couple was rather friendly towards each other, something, we locals will not do, not in front of other people,anyway. were they tourists? Fat chance.

The smell of dead fish was getting stronger, we noticed that it was coming from the direction of the wet market, or , was it from the SAFMA building area? It was a very unpleasant odour, where ever it was coming from.

It reminded me of the same experience at the same place a few years back. It was a low tide night, the stench coming from the sea was overpowering; my wife and I went inside a restaurant to escape the smell, unfortunately,it followed us right through the air-con system of the restaurant. It spoiled our appetite. I vowed that there was no way I would go back to eat there during low tide. Now, a perfect night, almost, and I had to come to terms with another KK perfume.

On the way home ,we passed the wet market, the fishy smell was rather strong here . What we noticed was also the rubbish all over the pavement of the market; discarded plastic bags, old newspapers and some of the wares were still on the pavement unattended by the owners. Unkempt is too good a word to describe the scene. As we moved on, we noticed to our left that there were more lights on Gaya island, maybe the settlement for the illegals is getting bigger. Do I care?

Behind the Hyatt hotel, there were a couple boats tied up at the old jetty, the people hanging around looked like they were waiting for passengers. I thought all boats had to operate out of Jesselton Point, maybe, exceptions are made at night time? I drove along, and my car CD player skipped a few times, as I ran over the potholes on the road.

Welcome all and sundry to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

Dna and sports

Actually,it’s quite easy,all you need is new ways of looking at old things.

Sports administrators in this country lack imagination , most sports fans have given up on seeing the country win any major sporting events at the international level, especially football. In their desire to protect their own turfs, administrators tend to ignore the big picture. When the crunch comes, it is always “never-my-fault” explanation with a straight face.

Some really worship mediocrity. After spending millions of ringgits of tax payers money,there must be mechanisms in place to make the administrators more accountable.Then, this is Malaysia, it appears that performance does not really matter, what is important is that your longevity in the sports organisations depends largely , according to some, on how well you take care of certain powerful people. Connections do matter, some people will tell you in fact,it is everything.

Surely, we need to move forward. In Sabah, we are blessed with over 30 ethnic groups, and they are natural with certain sports.It is part of their DNA if you will.

Take the Bajaus,we all know that they are natural horsemen. It goes without saying that they will do well in equestrian sports given proper training from young. There are other sea-based tribes who can be groomed to be great swimmers, divers or rowers because of their natural affinity with water.

The Kadazandusun people because many live in the mountains probably have bigger lungs than many of us, they can be trained to be middle distance or even marathon runners like the Kenyans or the Ethiopians.

The various Dayak tribes in Sarawak have their annual regattas, why can’t these inclinations be channelled into canoeing or kayaking? There are many possibilities, all you need is to be more imaginative and serious in going about doing your business, and focus on what we have.

Remember, real champions are waiting to be born in each and every one of us!

Hardcore poor

He never stood a chance, he was beaten even before he could take off from the starting blocks. At the tender age of eleven, he’s done with this world. The politicians turned up with their goodies, the next day it was splashed all over the front page of the local newspapers. The suicide of this young kid jolted us from our slumber, and we realise that there is something not quite right in paradise.

For young Donni John Duin, who hanged himself from the ceiling of his Kg. Suangon home in Kinarut, on the outskirt of Kota Kinabalu, his misery may well be over, but, can we really empathise with the pain he went through? It was not long ago that many of us were in the same predicament; with effort, mainly through education, and thanks also to sound government policies,some of us managed to escape from the clutches of poverty.

Many of us are still there, no matter how hard we try, we feel we cannot escape from the trap completely. Young Donni came from such a family.The father is in jail for drug offences, the mum has thalassaemia and a heart condition.He had tried to commit suicide before because he could not handle the abject poverty his family had to endure, but, his attempt was unsuccessful as the mother got to him in the nick of time.

The mother gets RM70 a month from the Welfare Department, with this paltry sum she has to feed the family of six siblings, aged between five and 17. She is lucky that she has a roof over her head due to the kindness of a man she had met at the hospital.But, this hand to mouth existence is enough to break anyone’s spirit . On top of this, young Donni had to endure the cruel teasing of his schoolmates; not only he didn’t have money to buy ice cream, but, the food prepared by his mum was referred to as a dog’s vomit by his friends. So,to him, enough was enough.

This sounds like a Bollywood script, but, this is happening here in this century in a relatively prosperous Malaysia , whose ambition is to be a developed nation by the year 2020. In our effort to keep up with the Jonesses, our traditional values of co-operation and community self-help are fast disappearing. It was not too long ago we used to share our extra food with our neighbours and some even borrowed money from you, and vice versa. Now, in this dog-eat-dog world, relatives, friends and neighbours just don’t want to know your problems. We don’t care enough, anymore.

There is also a need for a thorough review of how aid reaches the hard core poor so that in future, tragic cases like this can be prevented. The relevant authority needs to do much leg work; monitoring their charges must be a priority, paper work needs to be minimised and also, politicians must go on the ground more often. They must be more responsible and know what is happening in their own constituencies, after all they were elected for this purpose . They cannot be too self-centred and indifferent to the sufferings of the people until election time only. And, the teachers,what were they doing? If this incident does not prick all the relevant parties’ conscience or break their heart, I don’t know what will.

May young Donni rest in peace.

Gangsters

Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing raised the issue in Parliament, gangsters in Sibu, Sarawak were having a field day because of poor policing in the state, he said. It was rebutted by by Federal CID chief Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee, who claimed that the situation was normal.

Tiong then told Wan to go “undercover” to Sibu to see for himself how the residents there felt unsafe and were victims of extortion.He had also alleged that the secret societies were controlling everything,even the price of essential food items.

There were also talks that top politicians and businessmen are said to have links with the gangsters.This prompted the IGP, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, to personally drop in to Sarawak to see for himself what is actually happening on the ground. As a result a special task force has been set up directly under him to monitor the situation. There was also a response from someone in the police force that they cannot act without a police report, and the fact that the IGP personally dropped in to see for himself negated this rather archaic way of thinking .The IGP has demonstrated that he does not tolerate non-action on the part of his force.

The police should not be too bureaucratic in their approach, members of the public need to feel their complaints are acted on as fast as possible.It is like going to see a doctor, nobody wants to unless they have to;the expectations for a cure are high. When you walk in a police station to make your report, you feel your case is top priority. But, sometimes, when you have to deal with less than professional personnel, you feel let down by the system. This is the institution that looks after the security of the nation,it has to be tip top all the time. There shall be no tolerance for sloppy job here.

Inevitably, you do get the feeling that some of the personnel are not up to scratch in their work or they are not willing to run the extra mile for reasons only known to themselves.Were they adequately trained? A friend once said to me that our policemen are merely clerks in uniforms.They are not like their counterparts in the more advanced countries, where the body language alone is enough to tell you who is in charge.

It is our culture to be gentle and friendly, but, with the Prime Minister declaring “war” on the criminals recently, it is high time for our police force to be seen as tough and they must act tough within the ambit of the law, of course. They must put the fear of God in these lawbreakers. I can guarantee you that members of the public will be cheering the police on.

Rest assured that we understand the limitations of the force but, professionalism cannot be compromised. News that there will be a salary revision soon bodes well for the personnel who are seen to be doing a thankless job . As the frontliners, they should be paid well, not only this will attract the best of the best, but ,there will be much pride in being a member of the force. After 200 years of sterling history, the only way for the force to go is to be better and better.

50th Merdeka Anniversary

There is a bit of confusion at the current build -up to the 50th anniversary of our independence. To the peninsular Malaysians, the figure is correct, as they attained their independence on 31st August 1957. But, to the two Borneo states, our internal independence was declared on 31st August 1963 before we got together on 16th September 1963 with what was then Malaya, and Singapore to form Malaysia .

Strictly speaking Malaysia is only 44 years old, as there was no country called Malaysia before that. If there are going to be any celebrations, it must be the 44th anniversary and not 50th anniversary of our independence as a nation this year.

But, mention this to the people in charge, they will probably dismiss you without as much as listening to you because to them your version is definitely wrong. It is not a question of who is right or who is wrong here, but, what we need to do is to come to some kind of understanding over this fuzzy maths.

Every time these dates/years come up for discussion, the American example is cited. Many who dismiss this fuzzy maths as a non issue, contend that the original thirteen American colonies obtained their independence from the British on 4th July 1776, as they expanded westwards, the settlers annexed various territories at different times. Texas,for example, became independent from Mexico in 1836. California became the 31st state in 1850, Alaska and Hawaii became American states only in 1959.

So,what is the big deal? All Americans celebrate the 4th of July as their independence day, they argue. I have no problem celebrating the 31st of August as our independence day, but I am still fuzzy with the year - 1957 or 1963? 50th Independence day for Malaya or for Malaysia? As time goes by , I hope all this will not matter anymore. As our people become more Malaysian in their outlook, we will agree on one common date.

However, this will take a long time. Visitors from Borneo states are often asked by KL taxi drivers whether it is their first trip to Malaysia!?? Most people over there think Malaysia is only the peninsula .I asked one taxi driver why was this so, he told me because peninsular Malaysians need ICs/Passports to enter the Borneo states, thus, giving the impression that the two states are different from “Malaysia”!?

It can be very confusing if we want to split hairs . However, I would like to suggest that we emphasise more on the date rather than the year of our independence, if there is anything in common we have with regard to this, it is the 31st of August!

Idris Jala and MAS

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is a national pride that has gone terribly wrong. Singapore Airlines(SIA) by comparison has been on a steady course despite much turbulence affecting the sector.

Then that’s the Malaysian story all over,from an educational system that used to produce world beaters, we have now walked down the path of producing students who score As displaying their ability to regurgitate well and little else.

Its not easy to manage success,and the problem with Malaysians is that we get complacent easily. MAS was doing all right and only of late it literally flew into the dark clouds of mismanagement.

Staffed by civil servant types and not by corporate warriors,it plodded along without thinking much of the global aviation picture. The culture seems to be who cares as long as we get our salary at the end of the month, therefore, life must be good and everything is all right.

It was even reported while it was bleeding, the top management still had time to spend money on office renovations and to buy paintings for investment purposes.

They say all things must pass,when reality hit you between the eyes, and when you realize your bottom line is going red all over,the party must come to an end.

It ended abruptly and some superman from outside the industry was brought in.This man from Borneo by the name of Idris Jala appeared on the scene.Nobody heard of him except for the people in Shell,the oil giant company .

A talented member of the Kelabit tribe from the Bario Highlands in northern Sarawak, nobody gave him a chance in hell to turn the company around. The government cannot be that stupid, they must have studied his background thoroughly for him to be given the massive responsibility of nursing the sick baby back to health.

Or,maybe he was brought in, as some cynics suggest, to do the dirty work of cancelling the money losing routes in the two Borneo states. No peninsular Malaysian would want to take the responsibility for fear of a political fall-out.

When the figures looked positive after one year of running the show,many were still skeptical of his turnaround talent.I remember sitting at a dinner with some friends who commented that anybody could improve the figures if all he had to do was to sell off the assets of the company.

Fair enough. The latest figures,however, have showed better operating profits and many skeptics are slowly turning believers. MAS is not out of the woods yet. However,if the turnaround plan is strictly adhered to without too much political interference, the sky is the limit for MAS.

Personally, I would like to see our national carrier do well under the current management. Given our penchant for interference from higher up and less than transparent corporate governance, I am not sure if MAS can sustain itself after all the dark clouds have cleared away. I don’t know how long Idris Jala will be tolerated by the powers that be to guide the company.

Once everything appears stable, caution will be thrown to the wind yet again; there will the powerful who will demand free first class seatings for members of their family, there will be those who want toilets to be used exclusively by members of their own entourage plus hosts of other instructions at the expense of the profitability and the reputation of the airline.

If this happens and I think it will happen if we are not careful, the cycle will repeat itself, all this at the expense of the taxpayers of course.With this possible scenario, even the smartest of the corporate doctors will probably allow the national carrier to crash land.

As for Idris Jala’s next role, how about drafting him to be the next Sabah Chief minister as Sarawak appears to be well taken off by the politicians there?!

The educational experience of young Malaysians

It is the time of the year again,where young Malaysians jump with joy or cry in anguish.I am talking about our annual SPM examination results, for the uninitiated after five years of high school, students in Malaysia have to sit for public examinations to determine their future direction in life. These results are highlighted in the media like the world has come to an end for some,and the beginning of a great romance for others.

Basically, it is much ado over nothing, but the culture in this country is such that parents, students, teachers and just about everybody else wait to see who score the most As. For some students 10As are not enough, some venture to score 17 or 18As.Some who score 3As feel they have failed.

If this mind set persists,I think everybody in the country is a failure. I don’t understand how As in the school subjects can guarantee you anything in life.Life is not a sprint but a marathon.Often, when you meet these students,they fail to impress and.not many are street smart.

This attitude is carried right to higher education, I know some local graduates who have excellent paper results but have to be told what to do at the work place.The system has killed their creativity,they don’t ask questions and they lack initiatives,they are mere robots-learn what the teachers tell you,don’t think too much, spot questions and regurgitate the information .It is all right if you don’t understand the concepts,the idea is to show the examiners how much you know.If you can reproduce word for word,then you are really smart.Little wonder as many as 60,000 local graduates are unemployable.

There have been talks of changing the education system to produce wholesome individuals with soft skills as well as other skills.Indeed, the over emphasis of the academic skill is not making young Malaysians competitive in the globalizing market place.Malaysia has some fantastic policies,the implementation is another story.

Lets face it, if we cannot produce competitive, confident graduates in large numbers,young people who can work anywhere in this world and hold their own, then, we have failed as a modern nation.

This is a multi-cultural country, you would think Malaysians would be at ease with one another, we hear three or more languages spoken everyday,we see different places of worship, we eat different types of food. Ask any young Malaysian if they can really celebrate all this diversity, chances are you will get a blank stare.Maybe,they take it for granted, be assured that they don’t know any better. Some people with authority take it upon themselves to influence the young to walk along a very narrow path instead of appreciating the different colours that have been our very own landscape for hundreds of years.

Until the education system is revamped reflecting the realities of this century, and students are taught to deal with the country’s various multi-cultural issues in a an open and transparent manner in the classroom and outside,we can produce all the A students for all I care. At the end of the day we lose the battle to make Malaysia the leading light in this multi-cultural world despite our own multi-cultural background.

Yasmin Ahmad - The Filmmaker

I have always liked Yasmin Ahmad, the award winning film maker. Her Petronas advertisements have always captured the essence of our multi-cultural Malaysian experience, and they stay in your subconscious for a long time. I dare say many Malaysians are fans.

Who can forget her commercial on the rude young Malay executive on the LRT prompting some MPs in Parliament to castigate her for showing the ‘polite’ Malays as rude?Some critics have also damned her for ‘polluting the Malay culture’whatever this means.

Yasmin is honest, she never fails to tell her story playfully with some serious undertones. Her jokes can be racy at times. Maybe, she is a bit too advanced and too well read for the Malaysian public . Too many people want to be heroes , but, they lack the openness she has, which is her strength . Could it be that her courage and her way of thinking is influenced by her own multi-cultural background with some Japanese and Javanese heritage thrown in? And her Chinaman husband ?.

She is a teacher with a student of one at the moment but she is doing her part to educate the cinemagoers into the realities of multi-cultural Malaysia. You have to give her an A+ for this. For thinking Malaysians and foreigners she is a great cultural icon.

So far, all Yasmin’s movies-Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin reflect the real(west) Malaysian society. The Chinese, the Indians and the Malays are there living side by side, falling in love, having relationships, influencing one another, switching codes with ease. She is saying don’t compartmentalize ourselves, yes, we are of mixed cultures, religions, languages and yet we have one common destiny. She reminds us to be compassionate, let’s love one another despite our differences. There must be a divine reason for these three major Asian cultures to be under one roof. Don’t fight it, go with the flow and enjoy one another, she seems to be saying. For goodness sake, let us celebrate our humanity. Enjoy.

It would be nice if she would incorporate Sabah and Sarawak elements in her future movies thus making them truly Malaysian. The great Borneo story has yet to be told!

Sabah oh Sabah

The other day, a good friend said that it’s a real blessing to be a Sabahan. .

We have too many illegals, and there is so much hanky panky with those who have power, I said.

No, no, he said. I mean in terms of our human relations. Forget the politics, our plus point is that we are so multi-cultural that I get a high when I think about it. Look at the obituaries in the local papers, we can see most of the families are inter related; Kadazan marrying Chinese, Malays marrying Kadazan.

No big deal, we take it for granted, I said.

Yes, but, we must celebrate our diversity. You go to other parts of the country, people are not as open as us. Communications are not so honest. Here, you say what you want even in the presence of other races, people can accept your views with an open mind. You feel good about this sense of freedom.

We are too honest, that’s why we get conned easily by people who are not so honest, I said.

I agree. Can you be what you are not?

A bit hard. Honesty is the best policy? I asked.

Yes, he replied.

And wait to be conned all over again? I responded.

I know what you mean and I have no answer to that, he answered ruefully. It’s tough to be simple and nice in this world, he sighed.

Is it a real blessing to be a Sabahan, then?